Improved portable field-fence



IlNrrnn STATES "PATENT Crrrcn..

EZRA COLE, OF FAIRFIELD, MICHIGAN.

IMPROVED PORTABLE FIELD-FENCE.

Specification forming part of Leiters Patent No. 17,20r1, dated May 5, 1857.

To @ZZ whom, it may concern.;

Be itknown that I, EZRA COLE, of Fairfield, Lenawee county, and State ofMiehi'gan, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Portable Farm Fences; and I do hereby de clare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description ofthe same, reference bei ng had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of several panels of a panel farm-fence constructed after my in- Vention. The red lines show the necessary position of the panels in order to lock them together and to the posts. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of two of the panels in the position shown by red lines in Fig. l. Fig. Sis ahorizontal section of three panels in the positionl shown in black lines in Fig. 1. Fig. lis a plan of a portion ofthe upper rail. Fig. 5 is a side View ofa picket fence with my improve` ment. `lhe red lines show the necessary position oi' the sections in order to lock them together and to the'posts. Fig. 6 is a horizontal section of the same in the position shown by red lines in Fig. 5.

Similar letters of reference .in each of the several figures indicate corresponding parts.

My invention enables a farmer to readily and firmly put together the sections of panel and picket fences without the aid of nails, clasps, or other fastenings, and to separate the same with great facility when it is desired to transport or use the same to make a yard or other small inclosure.

The nature of my invention consists in a post, for use in connection with suitably-constructed panel or picket sections of a fence, formed of two thin planks, one of said planks being arranged on the one side of a transverse sill and` the other on the opposite side of the same, and one bearing, when the sections are locked together, against the inner face of one of the sections and theother against ,the outer face of the adjoining section. n

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willV proceed to describe its construction and operation.`

A represents the sills of the fence. They rest on rocks or other suitable foundations.`

B B2 are thetwoplanks of the post B. They are formed by sawing a board diagonally from end to end. These planks are attached by their broadest ends to the sides of the sill, one being nailed tothe inside and the other to the outside of the same in such relation to `each other that a space lexists between their edge about half thewidth of the sill, whilea space the full width of the sill exists between their face or side.

AC C are sections of a panel fence. The rails a a of the panel-sections are tied together at their ends by means of vertical tie-strips I) b, which at their lower ends, withthe lower rails, c c, are cut ont or notched, as seen at d, so as to fit over the edges ofthe sills.

E E are the capping-pieces of the sections. They extend from the center of the width of one of the tiestrips to the center of another, as shown in Fig. 4, so as to form ajoint at the center of said strips, as shown in Fig. l.

rlhe pickctsections of the fence are very similar to ordinary sections of such l'ences,they

.onlybeing different in this respect: the ends of upper and lower tie-pieces are cut away for onehalf their thickness, so that they may be scarfed together, and their faces made to stand flush with one another, as shown in Fig. 6, and the end of the base-boards e e only extend to the sills, as shown in Fig. 5, while the lower cross-ties extend entirely across the same, and a vertical strip, f, being nailed on the inside of every other section,said strips serving as stops, which, in connection with the last pickets of each section, bear against the sides of the post and hold thesections together in the same manner as in the panel fence.

rlhe manner of putting together and separating the sections of this fence is as follows: To put the sections of a panel fence together, it is simply necessary at the commencement to take two sections and insert one end of each, while standing diagonally across one of the sills, through the space between the planks of the posts in a manner to overlap one another, care being taken to have the bottom rail or base-board rest on the sill, as illustrated by red lines in Fig. l and by black lines in Fig. 2. This being done, the two sections are turned at right angles to the sills and lowered to the position shown in black in Figs. l and 3. B y thus vturning and lowering the sections the end strips are causedI to assume a position which enables them to act as stops against the sides of the post in such a manner, as seen in Fig. 3,

' the tie-piece of Yone section coming under the capping-piece of another, and vice versa.

The operation of putting together the seetions of picket fenceis the same asy the above,

' one of the pickets serving as the stop of one section, While the vertical stripf serves as the stop for the other section.

To take down the sections for transportation or -use as asmall yard, itis simply necessary to vraise the sections, so as ,to bring the bottom of the ybase-board even with the. top of the sill,' and then to turn the sections diagonal to the sill and draw them outfrom between the planks of the post.

This method o f constructing' fences is very cheap and economical, yet a fence of this character placed upon a raised foundation and fastened down upon the same by driving pickets g g into the ground Will be as rm andV durable as if constructed on any of the old plans, which do n'ot afford the facilities for ready taking down and setting up which it does.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isn The post B, for use in connection with picket or panel sections C C of a fence, formed of two thin planks, B B, one of said planks being arranged on the one side of a transverse sill, A, and the other on the opposite side of the same, and one bearing, when the sections arelocked together, against the inner face of one of the sections and the other against the outer face ofthe adjoining section, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

EZRA COLE. 

